Your Own
by RemusSiriusJames
Summary: A reflection on the sacrifice Lily and James made on October 31, 1981. Songfic to Nate Huss' Your Own.


**Author's Note:** I went to DYG this weekend (District Youth Gathering) in Pheonix, Arizona. There was a band there who performed the whole weekend and they sang amazing songs. Nate Huss, the singer of the band, shared his story with us and this is the song he wrote for his birth mother (He's adopted). I fell in love with the song by the second line because I immediately thought of Harry and his parents (and I'm being completely serious). It's a beautiful song and my heart completely broke for him. So, when I got home a few hours ago, I had to write this out before I forgot. (I know this scene has been done countless times, but I kept thinking of the Potters' deaths as I listened to this song). The end doesn't really follow my _What if? - The Afterlife _story, but it works here. It had to be different here.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Harry Potter or Nate Huss and his songs (though I wish I owned them both)

0000000000**Your Own **00000000000

Harry Potter laughed, his large bright green eyes shining as they followed the puffs of smoke that emitted from his father's wand. James Potter flicked the wand very slightly and smoky shapes of stared floated lazily into the air, floating just above Harry's head. Harry laughed again, standing and reaching for the smoke. He let out a loud noise of surprise as the shape broke apart in his fist. James laughed as he spotted the surprised look on his small son's face.

"Harry," James called gently, flicking his wand as a snake slid out of the wand.

Harry's eyes widened again and he squealed happily, attempting to grab onto the snake's tail.

_I heard your voice_

_But never saw your face_

_And you fed my need_

_But never gave me bread_

"James?" James looked up as his wife, Lily, walked into the living room.

"James, we need to put Harry to bed," she said, reaching his side.

Harry's attention suddenly left the smoky figures to fix onto his mother. "Mama! Mama, mama!" He giggled, reaching for her.

Grinning, James picked up his son and handed him to his beautiful wife.

"What am I?" James demanded of his son, who grabbed onto his mother, rubbing his face with his tiny fist. "Have I bored the tiny prince?"

"I think so, James," Lily laughed, holding Harry closer to her.

He began to whine, squirming in her arms. Lily winked at James and turned, walking out of the room, the baby beginning to whine in her arms.

_And my heart still beats_

_Because of your love_

_And now I live_

_Because of your love_

James tossed his wand across the sofa, placing his other hand over his mouth as he yawned widely. There wasn't much to do in this old cottage, so he and Lily had been sleeping a lot more than they used to, except, of course, when they needed to eat or tend to Harry. He closed his eyes, a smile spreading across his face. He was happy. He had a beautiful wife and son, he had a friend who would never betray them, they were safe in Peter's –

CRASH.

James jumped to his feet, his heart pounding. _Damn_. Heart thudding in his ribs, James ran out of the room and came to a halt in the entrance hall. His jaw dropped.

Voldemort was here.

_And my life's a result of your love_

_Flesh of your flesh_

_And I'm truly blessed_

_Oh, I'm a result of your love_

_Bone of your bone_

_But not exactly your own_

Lily, who had heard the crash upstairs, came quickly down the stairs, feeling very tense.

"James?" She called, slowly approaching the landing.

Her husband's white face appeared at the foot of the stairs. Lily stared at him. The last time she had seen him this scared had been when she and James had learned of the prophecy.

"James, what's-?"

"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go - run! I'll hold him off!"

"James-!"

"Lily, go!" James bellowed.

Lily bit her lip and realized, with a jolt of horror that Voldemort was standing right behind her husband.

"James!" She screamed, pointing.

"GO!" James roared, turning to Voldemort and blocking the stairwell with his body. As Lily fled up the stairs, she could not block out the two terrible words that took her best friend from her.

"Avada Kedavera!"

Lily gave a cry of anguish as the stairwell was filled with sudden green light and she heard the thump of her husband's body fall to the floor.

_You had a choice_

_To take away my voice_

_But gave life instead_

_While others_

_Their mothers left them dead_

Lily crashed into her son's room, gasping for breath as tears poured down her cheeks. James. A choked sob emitted from her mouth as she closed the door with trembling fingers. Quickly spotting a nearby chair and some boxes that had not been unpacked, Lily blocked the door with them as best as she could. She heard Harry laughing, pleased at the sight of his mother. She could not look at him - she could not let him see her cry. Lily backed away from the door and wiped her eyes on her sleeves.

"Mama?"

Lily tore her eyes from the door to gaze down at her son. Harry smiled brightly at her, holding up his hands, wanting her to pick him up. Lily tremulously picked her son up and cradled him to her breast, kissing his head gently. There was a sudden crash and Lily screamed, turning towards the twisted man who wanted to kill her family.

_And I won't forget_

_You made a sacrifice_

_And I now see_

_How hard it is to say goodbye_

Thinking quickly, Lily put Harry back into the crib and faced Voldemort once more, shielding the crib with her entire body. She saw his wicked eyes narrow and heard his terrible laugh. Suddenly, Lily remembered something. She was a Gryffindor and so was James. He died to give her time to run, time to protect their son. She held up her head, feeling terrified yet brave at the same time. She would not let her son die. Harry would grow up, go to Hogwarts, get married and have children. Though she knew she would never see him grow, she had to give him life. Lily, as a mother, had to give her son a second chance. Though it was terrifying, Lily was ready to die for her son, just as James died for their son.

_And my life's a result of your love_

_Flesh of your flesh_

_And I'm truly blessed_

_Oh, I'm a result of your love_

_Bone of your bone_

_But not exactly your own_

"Not Harry, not Harry, please, not Harry!" Lily hated begging, but as of now, she knew she had no choice.

Voldemort laughed; his high-pitched laugher making Lily's hair stand on end.

"Stand aside you silly girl... stand aside now." His wand was pointed at her heart.

Lily lifted her eyes to his, spotting the amusement in his eyes. Anger flared up inside her but she kept it at bay.

"Not Harry!" Lily cried, stretching her arms wider.

They were aching terribly but she didn't care. She only cared about her son.

"Not Harry! No, please, take me, kill me instead-!"

She could see the annoyance in his eyes now and she knew she would die in a matter of moments.

"This is my last warning-"

"Not Harry! Please... have mercy... have mercy... Not Harry! Not Harry! Please - I'll do anything - "

"Stand aside," Voldemort snarled, "Stand aside, girl!"

_But I'm all your own_

She saw the man's lips move and suddenly there was green light around her, inside her. Then suddenly, quite suddenly, there was nothing. She was floating angelically through the darkness.

"Lily." she heard a heavenly voice call her name.

She opened her eyes and saw James at the entrance of a tunnel; his arms open wide, stretched towards her. She reached for his hand, hardly daring to believe that it was James -her James- alive! As she touched his hand, the memories of the last moments of her life came back to her.

"James!" she gasped as James pulled her into him. "James, Harry-!"

"I know," James whispered, his voice broken. "He isn't coming, Lils."

Lily stared at James, whose eyes were filled with tears. She opened and closed her mouth in confusion and shock.

"What?" she asked, suddenly afraid that there was a separate heaven -or afterlife, she wasn't sure which- for babies.

_Years go by_

_Birthdays come and go_

_When it's my day_

_I wonder if you even know_

"You died for him," James said quietly, leading her to an opening in the cloudy floor. "I don't know how, but when you died, Harry survived Voldemort's attack. I watched it happen just before you came."

Lily stared out of the window-like opening of the floor. She could see her boy, her baby boy in the hands of a large man as he rode a motorcycle through the night sky. Tears filled Lily's eyes suddenly upon realizing that her son was alive and yet they could not see him grow up. James placed a hand on her shoulder and Lily buried her face into him.

_And my life's a result of your love_

_Flesh of your flesh_

_And I'm truly blessed_

_Oh, I'm a result of your love_

_Bone of your bone_

_But not exactly your own_

"James Arthur Potter," Twenty-three year old Harry Potter told the Healer, staring at the baby boy in his wife's arms.

Ginny smiled up at her husband, looking exhausted. "He's beautiful Harry," she murmured, gazing down at her son, who slept in his blanket.

Harry, not knowing what to say, gently took James from his mother's arms and held the baby as though he were made of glass. As he gazed down at his son, he thought of his parents and knew that he would make the same sacrifice if he had to. A wide grin spread across his face, grateful once again that his parents had given him a second chance.

He turned to Ginny and whispered, "No Gin - he's perfect; he's ours."

_I heard your voice_

_But never saw your face..._


End file.
